Baznas Optimizes Zakat Funds for Poverty Alleviation

Published: 19 October 2018

Photo source: republika.co.id

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - The National Board of Zakat (BAZNAS) continues the efforts to realize poverty alleviation programs. One of them is by optimizing the partnership with international institutions such as the United Nations Develoment Program (UNDP).

Chairman of Baznas Bambang Sudibyo said, BAZNAS together with UNDP had launched several Micro Hydro Power Plants (PLTMH) based on zakat funds for the poor in Jambi. Baznas had become a UN partner through UNDP for the development of sustainable development goals called SDGs, he said.

"The urgency of zakat and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda are increasingly strategic as solutions to the empowerment of the poor," he said in a written statement received by Republika.co.id, Thursday (10/18).

"We also emphasize the urgency of partnerships in all sectors, including government and non-government factors at the national and regional levels to support the implementation of the SDGs agenda," he said.

BAZNAS further solidifies its global reputation through increasing cooperation with world institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), a UN agency (UNRWA) dealing with Palestinian refugees , JHCO Jordan, Qatar Charity and so on, he continued.

"We are also trusted and elected to be the Secretary General of the World Zakat Forum or WZF which in early December will hold a conference in Melaka, Malaysia," he said.

BAZNAS has been invited twice to the UNDP Office at the UN Headquarters, New York, United States (US) and has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for the establishment of Innovative Financing Lab for SDGs in Jakarta on 17 November 2017. The LoI manuscript was signed by the Country Director of UNDP in Indonesia, Christophe Bauhet, and was witnessed by the UN Secretary General Assistant who is also the UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Director, Haoliang Xu.

A Letter of Intent related to the cooperation in building an Islamic Innovative Funding and Financing Lab for SDGs. According to Bambang, the implementation of the LoI will be carried out by a committee that will be appointed by both parties representing each organization.

Innovative financing for SDGs comes from the zakat and waqf funds of Indonesian Muslims collected through the proper preparation mechanism by both parties. "This is certainly adjusted to the requirements and legislation that apply in our country," he said.

He said, Innovative Financing Lab for SDGs will conduct research, surveys and studies related to innovative funding for SDGs. This activity will be financed based on mutual agreement between the two parties.

According to Bambang, this is an opportunity for BAZNAS to realize its vision of being the best zakat management institution in the world that is pioneered through SDGs programs. So the UN provided support for the development of innovative financing labs launched by Baznas and UNDP Indonesia

"BAZNAS is considered to have good Islamic financial management and Alhamdulillah won the prestigious 2018 Global Islamic Finance Award (GIFA) in Sarajevo, Bosnia," he said.

As is known, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) reported that the percentage of Indonesia's poor population fell to 10.12 percent in September 2017. It was recorded that the number of poor people fell by 1.19 million from March to September 2017.

BPS data shows that there were still 26.58 million poor people in September last year. For information, the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed on October 17 each year since 1992.

The memorial was first held in Paris, France in 1987. At that time, 100,000 people gathered at the Human Rights and Liberties Plaza at the Trocadero to honor victims of hunger, poverty, violence and threats.

They stated, poverty is violence against human rights. So, they demand that people around the world respect that right. After that, the UN General Assembly declared 17 October as International Day for the Eradication of Poverty .

The world citizen commemorates the observance with various events. The call for this event was made by Joseph Wresinski, founder of the prestigious international movement ATD Fourth World.